


It's Always The Same

by lilithtorch2



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Bonding, Differences in opinions, F/M, Gen, Spoilers, interpretation of scenes, movie-canon based interpretation, passive aggression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 07:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithtorch2/pseuds/lilithtorch2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thranduil and Tauriel have a 'polite' difference in opinion about their spider infestation. She is exasperated by how they always have this conversation, but when she has a friendly chat with Kili the dwarf, she realizes how different things are this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked Lee Pace in Pushing Daisies, but I can't help but see Thranduil as a big meanie! >:-(

Today, despite Lord Thranduil’s pensive expression (his only expression, Tauriel believed), Tauriel could tell that he had become increasingly vexed with her.

Tauriel’s relationship with Lord Thranduil was like that between a father and a daughter. Well, almost, but not quite. Even if he did care for Tauriel in such a way and permitted his son Legolas to communicate with her, Thranduil intentionally kept an emotional distance. Regardless of Tauriel’s hard-earned position as a captain of the guard, he still considered her a lowly Sylvan elf. Therefore, Tauriel really should have expected how this conversation with her almost-but-not-quite-a-father Thranduil would progress; she’d had some variation of it many times before.

As expected, Thranduil opened with a subtle verbal attack. He chided her gently, “I thought I ordered that nest to be destroyed not two moons past.”

As the almost-but-not-quite-a-daughter to Thranduil, Tauriel considered rolling her eyes at that unfounded reprimand. Her Lord should have known by now that whatever he ordered, she would follow it without fail, regardless of her own opinions. He always did seem to find something at fault with her; if it wasn’t her red hair, then it was the way she carried out her duties (like he was doing right now). In fact, if she took the time to think about it later, Thranduil’s actions seemed to bear a mild undercurrent of hostility, as if she owed him a debt for rescuing her and taking her under his wing. Moreover, it seemed as if Thranduil needed to assert control over something, _anything_.

As the captain of the guard, however, Tauriel knew better than to act insolently in front of Thranduil. Instead, she focused on more paramount issues and paced back and forth, trying to move past her anxiety. (She wasn’t sure if she was actually successful at doing that.)

“We cleared the forest as ordered, my Lord, but more spiders keep coming up from the South.”

Tauriel knew that Lord Thranduil would not listen to her, but she voiced her opinion anyway. She knew that the spiders were spawning from the ruins of Dol Guldor; why not kill them right at the source? Any other method would only provide temporary relief for their kingdom.

Of course, Thranduil believed it was unnecessary. “Their fortress lies beyond our borders. Keep our lands clear of those foul creatures. That is your task.”

Well, yes, that _was_ her task, but she was certain that the spiders would travel to other lands, including the home of the dwarves they had just captured and imprisoned. The elves were not the only inhabitants of this world; their forest was _not_ the only land in existence.

“And when we drive them off? What then? Will they not spread to other lands?”

She worked to keep her emotions in check when Thranduil expressed more worry for their kingdom and insisted, again, that the other lands “are not of my concern.”

“Fortunes of the world will rise and fall, but here in this kingdom, we will endure.”

Tauriel sighed. He just refused to understand! The spiders would eventually close in on them and the others, and in the end, there would be _no_ kingdom left. Why did he not want to comprehend it?

After centuries of this, though, Tauriel knew that such protests would fall on deaf ears, and she held her tongue. There was only one thing she could do: she lowered her head and turned to leave. Before she could escape Thranduil, though, he called out to her:

“Legolas said you fought well today.”

From her almost-but-not-quite-a-father, that was quite the compliment to Tauriel. That _was_ good, right? She turned to look at Thranduil and smiled.

“He has grown very fond of you.”

Okay. Not what Tauriel was expecting to hear from Thranduil next; why would he say something like that? She had liked Legolas before, but that was long past. Over the centuries, Tauriel had learned everything there was to learn about him, and ultimately she was comfortable with simply seeing Legolas as a brother. Besides…

“Actually, my Lord, Legolas thinks of me as no more than a captain of the guard.”

She held her breath, waiting for Thranduil’s response.

“Perhaps he did once. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Thranduil deliberately walked past her to leave her alone with those ominous words.

Her own eyes were wide with surprise. She thought back to her past interactions with Legolas and realized that she had been wrong about his affections for her. Perhaps she had been in denial about it this whole time; after all, one really did not live for six hundred centuries without having had lots (perhaps too much) of practice reading people. But what did this mean for Legolas? More importantly, what did it mean for herself? _Did_ she still have any lingering feelings? And if she didn’t, how would Thranduil react to that?

More importantly: where, exactly, was this conversation headed? Was Thranduil paying her a strange but genuine compliment, or was he setting her up for another verbal trap?

“I did not think you would allow your son to pledge himself to a lowly Sylvan elf.”

Thranduil’s next words proved that it was a trap.

“No you’re right, I would not.”

Well, then. What _else_ did Lord Thranduil want to say?

“Still, he cares about you. Do not give him hope where there is none.”

She sighed; where and when, she wanted to ask Lord Thranduil, had she _ever_ given Legolas such hope? She had always acted according to her own values and beliefs. She had always been herself and never, in any way, done such a thing.

And _that_ , she realized with dismay, was what her almost-but-not-quite-a-father really wished to say to her. His words were laced with venom, designed to suggest to her that the only reason she was made captain of the guard in the first place was because Legolas was fond of her.

It was just so unnerving to hear it from her King like this. Hadn’t she always done an excellent job carrying out her duties?

Yet he still refused to acknowledge her efforts.

But there was nothing else she could do, and Tauriel lowered her head again and quickly left the halls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene between Tauriel and Thranduil just bugged me a lot; why talk about Legolas when you're discussing spiders? On the surface it does look like a love triangle is being hinted at in the movie but I think something more sinister is at work here...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Later that day, Tauriel opted not to go to Meleth en Gilith and decided to walk back down to the cells where the dwarves were being held. It would help her get her mind off of her earlier discussion with Thranduil and her frustration that Thranduil was perfectly content to sit back and do nothing. Besides, she wanted to learn more about the dwarf, the one that was rather tall and asked her if she would search him (after all… he could have something down his trousers). He was interesting; he represented for her the world outside of her home that she knew she was a part of and desperately longed to explore. Besides, no elf had ever talked to Tauriel in such a way, probably because everyone else except for herself had known that Legolas was more than fond of her. Actually, she wasn’t sure if any of the elves had ever spoken to each other in the way Kili had with her. When she thought about it later, she was sure that no one did. As she walked closer to the cell where Kili had been held, she could see through her peripheral vision that the dwarf was tossing something in his hands and staring at it hopefully. Tauriel glided closer to his cell and, because she really had nothing else to talk to him about, opened with this question:

“The stone in your hand…what is it?”

Kili’s expression was grave when he answered her question. “It is a talisman…” He paused and looked at her seriously. What was this supposed to mean? Tauriel had an ominous feeling that she would find out soon.

The dwarf continued dramatically: “A powerful spell lies upon it. If any but a dwarf reads the runes on the stone…”

She held her breath and waited for what he would say next.

“They will be forever _cursed!_ ” He forced the stone in front of her line of sight.

Tauriel was taken aback and quite worried. She should never have asked the question in the first place! Would she really be cursed if she read the runes? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know now, but she didn’t know what to say after that. She awkwardly turned to walk off and pretend that she was simply patrolling the cells, making sure that none of their captives would escape.

“…or not.”

Tauriel paused at the dwarf’s words and retraced her steps so that she was back in front of Kili’s cell.

Kili’s voice turned friendly and he chuckled. “Depending on whether you believe that kind of thing. It’s just a token…a runestone.”

Tauriel, still slightly wary, let out a slow smile when she realized that she, an elf, had been fooled. She watched the dwarf examine the stone affectionately and describe how it came into his possession. It had been given to him by his mother, Kili explained, so that he would remember his promise.

“What promise?” She asked him.

“That I would come back to her...she worries. She thinks I’m reckless.”

“Are you?” Tauriel wondered what it would be like to have a mother who worried for her the way Kili’s mother clearly did for him. She supposed her mother would not have let her become captain of the guard because of the dangers it posed. She vaguely remembered her parents…

Kili only grinned and shook his head, but the stone he had been carrying slid off his hands and bounced outside of his cell. Immediately, Tauriel used her foot to stop the stone in its path before it could hop off into oblivion. She inspected the precious stone under the light that shone through the dwarves’ cells and made sure to remember every line, every indentation. Even though the stone was dark in color, it was polished and gleamed under the light when she turned it around. It was such a small, simple item but it represented so much for the dwarf who carried it with him always.

In their silence, Tauriel could hear the sounds of singing and celebration above.

“Sounds like quite a party you’re having up there,” Kili noted.

She told him that it was called ‘Meleth en Gilith,’ a feast of starlight. She smiled at that, remembering all the other times they had held the Feast. “All light is sacred to the Eldar,” she told Kili, “but Wood Elves love best the light of the stars.”

Kili seemed to say in a daze, “I always thought it is a cold light, remote and far away.”

At that, Tauriel had to protest; the light of the stars were so beautiful that nothing else could quite compare. “It is memory!” she insisted. “Precious and pure…like your promise.” She gave him back the stone for emphasis and told him about the starlight, how she had seen the world fall away and the white light of forever fill the air. He listened to her with fascination and wonder; even he could feel the emotions behind her memory of the starlight.

Kili decided to share with her the story of seeing a fire-moon. Tauriel had never seen the fire-moon before and she was interested in hearing Kili tell more about the experience. She sat down next to him to hear him more closely and remember everything he told her. It was red and gold and filled the sky, he said. Kili and some of the other dwarves were an escort for some merchants from Ered Ludin. They had taken the Greenway south, keeping the mountains to their left…when it appeared. The names of the roads and the locations were only just names for Tauriel, but for Kili, they held a lot of meaning, a lot of memory. It was a memory that would stick with him forever, she knew.

In that moment when she spoke with Kili, he was not just a dwarf; he was someone with humor, with personality, with memories and dreams. He had a family and people he cared about, just like she had.

There were some aspects about her life that would always be the same, Tauriel thought to herself as she listened to Kili speak, but in this case, something was different after all. She had gained a better understanding of someone from a race that elves normally despised and learned that they were not too different after all. Compared to the stern Thranduil, this dwarf seemed far more open, far more adventurous. She liked that about Kili the best.

And no matter where he went, no matter what Thranduil’s orders were for her, Tauriel would always follow after Kili, doing her best to protect him and his dream.


End file.
